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2006-09-30 Entry: "2006-07 Season: Part 2"

So, week 2 (or possibly 3 - my brother was visiting and it kind of screwed up my week 2 assessment), and there's only a couple of shows still to start. But first, a refresher on part 1 - I had two renewals for next year, four that'd last a season, and one that should be killed a.s.a.p! Well, of those, I've given up on the reality show (Celebrity Duets) and one of the dramas (Bones) because they're dull and uninteresting, and there's better stuff to watch or do. Vanished is amazingly improving, but I still don't think it'll get resolved before it's cancelled. Oh, and Justice has managed to get itself pulled from the schedule a week earlier than Fox were planning to.

So where are we with other new shows? With only four that I'm actually planning to watch still to open (Lost, The Nine, Daybreak, and the best show on television, Veronica Mars), and one of those held over until Lost goes on its looooooong break (Daybreak), I've still got to give it some time to winnow the numbers down, but one's an easy kill.

Runaway (on the CW) was rubbish. I don't care about any of these characters, most of them are morons, and the wife didn't even survive a season of 24 before being killed, so please, put this out of its misery now. Of course, this being soooo bad, it makes my Monday evening viewing easy, as I had three shows at 9pm on a Monday and could only watch/record two. Which means Vanished remains on my viewing list (heaven help me!).

The other Monday show is Heroes, which opened pretty well, if a bit hokey, and at least it acknowledges that it's a whole big comic book show. The flight effect was really horrible and they're going to have to work on that, and Adrian Pasdar needs to stop phoning in Jim Profit performances. But otherwise, Ali Larter and the cheerleader are perfectly watchable, and the Japanese guy is probably the best character, and I'd quite like to see how it plays out. I'd probably have to give it a season at the moment.

Also on a Monday night, and expectedly good, is the Aaron Sorkin show, Studio 60 On The Sunset Strip. Of course, Josh was my favourite character on the West Wing, and Matthew Perry deserves a character with a slightly harder edge, and it sure is nice to see Sarah Paulson again after American Gothic, but there's a lot of West Wing homages in this show. Half the cast appears to have been stolen, and the big captions are straight out of various episodes, but can it last? And can it make Amanda Peet watchable, as so far she's the most grating thing on the show?

Skipping onto Tuesdays, and we covered House and Standoff last week. Veronica's still to air, so that leaves Smith. All the reviews I read before the season made this out to be a great show, but so far I'm hating it. No-one's particularly likeable, and Mr Smith himself is just horrible to watch, so why should I stick with this show, other than to see who dies and how ridiculous their escapes from silly plots are. But I just don't care.

Wednesdays open with Jericho, and so far this is very predictable. And not particularly watchable. Okay, yes, the silly mystery about what the hell Skeet was doing while he was out of town could do with some resolution, and the mysterious black man's knowledge of what's happened would have been nice to reveal, but otherwise, major yawn.

Criminal Minds has reopened well, with a couple of reasonably strong episodes, but they really should have released the DVDs before the second season opened so I knew what was going on in part 2 of the cliffhanger!

Kidnapped opened pretty well, but turned to awful rubbish very quickly. I just don't care about these characters, and why should I tune in every week. Maybe this'll pick up like Vanished has, or maybe it deserves to be cancelled. Lets see in a couple of episodes time.

Thursdays have given us four shows. Smallville opened pretty strong, but Clark really needs to sort his love life out. And Lana needs to stop being beaten up by boyfriends! How long before Jimmy "call me James" Olsen turns evil and tries to kill Chloe? And how long until Lois finds out (yes, I know, theoretically never, but the Fortress of Solitude bit was just too convenient)?

Supernatural looks to be okay - nothing special, but still perfectly watchable. But with only one episode under their belt, there's a long way to go to see if their second season keeps them around.

Six Degrees looked like one of the weakest shows with one of the biggest names behind it. When you have the guy that managed to bring Alias and Lost to the screen, you expect better, but at least it's well produced! And although it's still a bit too saccharine, the reveal at the end of episode two was lovely. Now we just need to find out what's in the box!

Shark however is humdrum lawyerly rubbish. Why should I watch this show? It has absolutely nothing going for it, and James Woods doesn't help. Kill it now!

Fridays - The Ghost Whisperer came back pretty strong, and I'd been spoiled on the surprise ending of the last season anyway, but are they really trying to build a mythology here with the mysterious guy in a hat? Watchable, but needs to pick up...

Men In Trees is rubbish. Yes, it's perfectly watchable rubbish, and Ann Heche and Abraham Benrubi are always good to watch, but otherwise, take it or leave it fare.

Numb3rs also came back strong, and hello Wolf Lake star Lou Diamond Phillips. Of course, Charlie has to go and screw up his love life, but what can you expect from a bumbling mathematician?

So in summary:

Shows getting renewed for next season: Prison Break, House, The Ghost Whisperer, Criminal Minds, Studio 60 On The Sunset Strip

Last this season, renewal up for grabs: Numb3rs, Smallville, Supernatural, Six Degrees, Standoff

Last this season, renewal unlikely: Men In Trees, Heroes, Justice (I'm tempted to drop this one into the dead category after Fox pulled it), Bones.

Dead, but they don't know it yet: Shark, Kidnapped, Jericho, Smith, Runaway, Vanished

I think I can place the four unaired shows, but I'll give them a couple of weeks to make their mark...